Question

Give different steps of agricultural practices in sequence.

Answer 1

Hint: All the food that we eat comes from farming. For farming the farmer does a lot of activities so that he could get a good yield of the crop that he is about to grow. All the aspects of farming are worked upon before a crop is grown.

Complete answer:
All the agricultural practises come under the agricultural cycle which is an annual practise related to the growth and harvest of a crop. These practises include loosening of the soil, seeding, watering, transferring plants and harvesting. The main steps involve soil preparation, sowing, addition of fertilizers and manure, irrigation, harvesting and storage.
-Soil preparation – Before sowing a crop the soil in which it is to be sowed is prepared well by ploughing that loosens it, levelling that evens it and manuring which adds nutrients to it. Ploughing is the most important step in the process of soil preparation as it provides aeration to the soil and then this soil is evenly distributed by levelling and manure is added to it.
-Sowing – Before sowing is actually done seeds are selected for the best quality. Seeds are available in different strains and the best strain is selected. After selection the seeds are dispersed into the field either by hand or by seed drilling machines. Some crops such as that of rice are first grown as seedlings in a small area and then transferred into the main field.
-Manuring – All crops need some additional nutrients for good growth. Manuring is the application of supplements which can be natural (manure) or chemical compounds like fertilizers. Natural manure is produced by the decomposed waste animal and plant litter. Fertilizers are commercially produced chemical compounds. Manuring not only helps to provide nutrients to the soil but also increases soil fertility. Other methods to increase the fertility of the soil include addition of vermicompost, crop rotation and growing leguminous crops.
-Irrigation – The supply of water from wells, lakes, ponds, dams, canals or other methods. Irrigation should be done in a limited quantity as excess of it leads to water logging thereby damaging the crop.
-Weeding – It is the process of eliminating the unwanted weeds which may be present along with the crop. They can be removed by hand or with the help of weedicides.
-Harvesting – When the crop has matured it is cut manually or with the help of harvesters, the grain is separated from the chaff by winnowing or thrashing and stored in appropriate conditions.

Note: Grains are stored in large granaries or godowns and are used for marketing. The crops stored are protected from pests, climatic conditions by proper drying, cleaning and fumigation, so that they can be stored for longer durations.